A report published by the independent expert committee the Regulatory Horizons Council (RHC) has concluded that a lack of alignment between stakeholders and regulators, including a lack of regulatory guidance for innovators, threaten the UK’s ability to play a leading role in ship and technology-related design and manufacture for hydrogen-propelled vessels.
It concluded that while with the right regulatory framework UK shipbuilders could potentially be building hydrogen propelled vessels in the next three to five years to meet the needs of wind farms, aquaculture and coastal freight and ferry transport, commercial and regulatory barriers are creating obstacles to the deployment of hydrogen fuel technology.
During interviews with the RHC, small shipbuilders cited a need for the development of new checklists and guidance derived from evaluation of the specific risks presented by hydrogen technologies. Vessel developers also noted difficulties and delays with gaining approval for their designs. Class societies and UK flag authority the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) in particular were singled out in particular as being unnecessarily cautious.
Another factor highlighted was a lack of port infrastructure, with port operators having little to no incentive to make zero or low-carbon strategic investments.
Noting the limited window of opportunity, the report advises the UK Government to act quickly to create the necessary regulatory environment. One recommendation is to increase the speed of approvals of zero-carbon and novel vessel designs by appointing class societies as ‘Approved Bodies’ (ABs) for design evaluation.
In addition to clearer guidance on risk assessment, the report also recommends accelerating the build rate of hydrogen vessels by ensuring spending commitments are at a scale to international competitors, focusing on de-risking hydrogen vessels from a technical and commercial perspective to encourage private investment.
